BOSTON — Despite suffering a second concussion in a 14-month period Dec. 20 against Carolina, Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron is confident he’ll be back in the line-up this season.

“I’m very confident I will play this year. It’s a matter of when. That’s why I don’t want to put a date on it and get disappointed like I was last year during the playoffs,” Bergeron insisted during a brief meeting with the media inside the Bruins’ locker room at TD Banknorth Garden.

Bergeron, who suffered a Grade 3 concussion after a hit from behind in Oct. 2007, has been sidelined since hitting his jaw into Hurricanes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg’s shoulder at full speed at center ice. Bergeron recalled today that he was trying to “force the red line” and make Seidenberg give up the puck.

“It’s a play I’m going to do 20 times and he’s not going to hit me in the jaw like that,” said Bergeron, who in 31 games this season compiled 4-14-18 totals. (more…)

BOSTON — While Patrice Bergeron addressed the media in the Boston Bruins’ locker room this morning, the team took the TD Banknorth Garden ice for a practice.

The 10 remaining healthy forwards were out there with the six defensemen, plus Shane Hnidy, who took the ice for the first time since Tuesday night’s loss to Minnesota.

During that game, Hnidy took a Cal Clutterbuck shot above his left eye. He returned to the line-up during the game wearing a visor but under doctor’s orders was kept off the ice the last two days.

His eye still scarily swollen mostly shut, Hnidy said after practice that he can see fine but he won’t be able to play tomorrow against Carolina. Yesterday he biked a little bit to keep up his conditioning.

He recalled that six years ago when he was with Ottawa he had a similar injury and then wore a visor for a short time. Now he’ll have the visor on again, temporarily.

“It takes a little getting used to. I’ve worn it before when last time it happened,” he explained. “It’s one of those things, it’s a pretty poor excuse but the longer you play you kind of get used to playing without it. But at the same time, I think, obviously I have to wear it for a while. It didn’t bother me.”

“The first time, I took a lot of heat when I took it off,” Hnidy continued. “But it’s a game of risk. Anything can happen out there — visor or not. So for right now the decision will definitely be for the visor.”

Sturm, out since Dec. 18 with a left knee injury, will have his meniscus repaired and it’s “probable” that he’ll also need his ACL repaired. Should he require surgery on his ACL, it’s highly unlikely he’d be able to return to play this season.

In 19 games this season, Sturm totaled seven goals and six assists for 13 points. A six-time 20-goal scorer, Sturm had missed 12 games with concussion-like symptoms before he returned against Toronto Dec. 18. That night he suffered the injury when he awkwardly went into the endboards.

BOSTON — Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron was available for comment today at TD Banknorth Garden for the first time since he suffered his second concussion in 14 months Dec. 20.

Bergeron looked fit and able as he spoke.

The key answer he gave for all the Black and Gold backers out there was this one: “I’m very confident I will play this year. It’s a matter of when. That’s why I don’t want to put a date on it and get disappointed like I was last year during the playoffs.”

Bergeron continues to work out casually and he says he hasn’t had any setbacks.

I’ll have expanded coverage of Bergeron’s comments within the next hour or so.

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins just announced that forwards Martin St. Pierre and Vladimir Sobotka have both been assigned to Providence (AHL).

Theses demotions, combined with the return of emergency-recall winger Martins Karsums, leave the Bruins with just 11 forwards on their current roster.

St. Pierre was impressive in his nine-game stint with Boston, as he totaled one goal and three points from the fourth line. Sobotka has been up and down a couple times this year and last. In 15 games this season, he’s posted 1-1-2 totals.

UPDATE: Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed this morning that two different forwards will be recalled from Providence later today or tomorrow before the club’s matinee with Carolina.

BOSTON — The 2008-09 Boston Bruins are on the ice posing for their team picture at TD Banknorth Garden.

The picture is “closed to the media” but on a quick glance from rinkside there was nothing the Bruins were really hiding. Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm and Milan Lucic are all on the ice in uniform flashing their pearly whites (or whatever the equivalent is for a hockey player).

Bergeron will be speaking with us in about 30 minutes. Check back in a bit for complete coverage.

The Carolina Hurricanes will play the second game of their current three-game road trip at TD Banknorth Garden against the Boston Bruins Saturday. Last night, the ‘Canes had their modest four-game winning streak ended by the Florida Panthers.

Alexander also tells us that forward Eric Staal will be the ‘Canes’ lone All-Star representative. Staal, who was picked over hot goaltender Cam Ward and leading scorer Ray Whitney, was the MVP of last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

BOSTON — Boston Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart missed a couple first-period shifts during the 6-4 win over Ottawa tonight at TD Banknorth Garden after an errant puck hit him in the chin while he was on the bench.

The cut required about four stitches, but he came back and still skated for 15:19 of solid ice time. (more…)

BOSTON — The game within the game tonight at TD Banknorth Garden hit its pinnacle in the third period. After David Krejci used some slight of hand — and a little luck — to give the Boston Bruins the lead for good, Marc Savard extended the lead with a pretty move of his own just four minutes later.

Watching this Bruins team, it’s always hard to tell which of their top lines is supposed to be the first — and no place was that more evident than in the club’s 6-4 win over Ottawa.

Hockey players and coaches cringe at the thought of numbering lines — insisting that everyone’s equal and an NHL line is an NHL line. But we all know that’s just their team unity talking and their has to be a hierarchy. There has to be a line the coach goes to when he needs a goal, one he goes to in order to protect a lead, one he counts on to change the game with some physical play.

Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien has been lucky enough to sometimes have three lines consistenly scoring. But injuries to Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm, and now Milan Lucic, have sort of thinned the Bruins’ herd up front and forced the team into having more traditional checking and scoring lines. Determining which line is the top one — among the Krejci and Savard lines — is where things get sticky. (more…)

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins announced today that center Patrice Bergeron, out since Dec. 20 with his second concussion in 14 months, will address the media for the first time Friday afternoon at TD Banknorth Garden.

BOSTON — Winger Martins Karsums, who made his NHL debut last month and stayed with the Boston Bruins for just one game, will take the warm-up with the team at TD Banknorth Garden after being recalled on an emergency basis.

The Bruins’ PR staff has informed us that Karsums will play if a member of the Bruins who is ailing can’t go — but that player will go unnamed.

It’ll be tough for the Bruins to be down another forward with Milan Lucic already ruled out for tonight’s game with Ottawa.

UPDATE: The Bruins came onto the ice with Manny Fernandez leading the pack. So he will get the start in net opposite Martin Gerber for Ottawa.

Today the Pittsburgh Penguins inked forward Jordan Staal to a four-year, $16 million contract extension. The 20-year-old was scheduled to be a restricted free agent this upcoming summer.

So now the Boston Bruins know where the starting point is for negotiations with winger Phil Kessel, who’s headed toward RFA status. Although Staal was drafted second overall, three picks ahead of the now 21-year-old Kessel, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Kessel has clearly been a more productive player on — until this season — less successful clubs. (more…)

BOSTON — The list of doubters of Tim Thomas goes on longer than War and Peace, so to finally be picked to an NHL All-Star Game as a reserve on the first attempt has to be fulfilling for the Boston Bruins puck-stopper.

“It’s part of trying to prove yourself,” he explained, hours before the Bruins were set to face Ottawa at TD Banknorht Garden, while reacting to his selection to the Eastern Conference squad for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal Jan. 25. “But it isn’t over. I’ve still got a lot of proving left to do. And I think sometimes maybe keeping that is going to take more work than it was to get that moniker of a good player.” (more…)

BOSTON — Boston Bruins center Marc Savard had to wait until he was needed as an injury replacement last winter to earn the first All-Star Game selection of his career.

Today he found out that he won’t have to sweat it out that long as he was named as a reserve for the Eastern Conference team that’ll take the ice at the Bell Centre in Montreal Jan. 25.

“Obviously it’s a special time in Montreal – the 100-year anniversary – it’s going to be fun. And obviously, I’m from up the road in Ottawa so I should have a lot of family and friends on hand,” said Savard just three hours before taking the ice at TD Banknorth Garden for a showdown with Ottawa. (more…)